


Moon Children Chronicles

by inkcharm



Category: Moon Child (2003)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Childhood, Children, Fluff, Gen, Humor, Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-27
Updated: 2011-12-27
Packaged: 2017-10-28 06:21:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/304695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkcharm/pseuds/inkcharm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Snippets of Sho's childhood after finding the vampire Kei, through smiles, tears, jokes and the serious weight of growing up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Calamity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Kei, I think you killed that sandwich."

****

Kei treasured silence. To him, silence was peace. She was a constant companion, soothing and gentle, and he rarely felt the need to be rid of her. Unfortunately, silence had been a most fleeting thing ever since common sense had failed him and he had taken those children under his wing. Really, what ever had he been thinking?

 

„Kei.“

  


He didn't bother responding and kept scratching.

 

„Ne... Kei?“

  


It would go away if he just kept ignoring it. The memory of whether or not this had ever worked in the past had already been successfully banned from his mind that way.

 

„Kei, I think you killed that sandwich.“

  


The vampire found himself unable to disagree as he stared at the mess of bread, cheese, salami and... well, whatever else he had put on there. He didn't really remember. Not that the children usually complained with the exception of Shinji, of course, had Kei bothered to count that brat part of his pack. Whenever Kei prepared food, he just dumped whatever he came across together and hoped that the cubs were still young enough to be fooled into thinking he had the slightest idea what the hell he was doing. Lady Luck was usually generous in having his little ones finding joy in whatever abomination he put in front of them, sparing his ego a bad bruising.

 

Not this time, though. Up until this time he had always been able to cover up small dents in the road with a considerable amount of creativity – there was some pride to be found in there... somewhere... he hoped – but dents were the least of your problems when the mess was more like the whole fucking city had been blown up and then turned inside out. Considering the state of those sandwiches the frying pan had been the battleground for at least three world wars, some nuclear prodding and the revival of foxtrot.

 

„Kill is too nice a word here, Sho.“

  


He needed to find a way to seperate Toshi and Sho. Bad enough when one cub came crawling along with the attention span of a chipmunk on illegals, but whenever Sho got bored and decided to bug Kei about something or other Toshi would be hot on his heels and the results would often have the vampire wishing for brain bleach. He could only hope that as soon as Sho was old enough to handle a gun he would bugger off to shoot stuff and get bored less often.

 

Then again, maybe not.

 

„More like a slaughter, then?“

  


„Yes... yes, I think that does it. The sandwich was such a bitch he had to butcher it.“

  


Kei's left eye twichted. The children giggled. „Language, Toshi“, he growled out of habit. „Any more of that B-word and I'll use your tongue to clean the dishes.“

 

Toshi grinned in that lopsided way of his. „Alrighty, Kei. You had to  _slaughter_ the bitchy sandwich.“ The boy gave the most indignant shriek when he was suddenly dangling upside down in the air, the only thing holding him in place Kei's tickling fingers at his waist. Toshi alternated between shrieks that would have woken the truly dead and made them walk halfway across the graveyard before they remembered there was something altogether wrong with that, and laughter so completely breathless and innocent and full of joy that Kei couldn't find it in him to stop.

 

„Are you proud of yourself, Kei?“ he sputtered when the tickling ceased after all. „You made the poor sandwich suffer. Look at it!“ Before he could go on Toshi had to catch his breath and poke Kei in the not quite dead hope that one day he would find Kei to be ticklish. The vampire simply failed to comply for the 173rd time. „It's like girls!“ he finally exclaimed.

  


Kei raised an eyebrow. „How so?“ Then he spent the following seconds foregoing Toshi's explanation cursing himself mentally in a language so colourful and detailed that even the most foul-mouthed gangsters in Mallepa would have blushed like virgin shepherdesses.

 

With a face as serious as that of any child firmly believing something that was mindtwistingly weird and irresistably endearing to most adults and plain stupid to the heartless rest Toshi said: „Well, it's gross, but I just can't look away.“ With that he shrugged and walked off, all things said on the matter.

 

Kei's eye gave another twitch. Immortality or no, he was quite convinced he hade aged considerably in the last few minutes. The worst part was that they would never, ever let him live this down. Remember that time when Kei slaughtered the poor sandwich? He could foresee lengthy, entertaining conversatins starting like this in the future. Maybe his hair would start growing white in this life after all.

 

„Oh, Sho, don't eat...“ Too late. The boy was already munching away on the casualties. Kei would have thrown up his hands in defeat had he not considered that gesture to be quite undignified. He even managed to swallow the sound of disgust that had been on the brink of climbing up his throat upon seeing Sho actually eat what the vampire had butchered in that pan.

  


The child swallowed. His blue eyes widened in horror. He had to swallow three times more before he looked at Kei with the expression of someone who had just touched something rotten and found doing so wasn't actually all that cool but rather squishy and rank instead.

 

And then from somewhere inside of him – Kei suspected that mysterious place was very far from the boy's stomach – Sho managed to pull a smile all the way up to his lips and eyes. „It's not too bad“, he piped up.

 

Kei chose not to answer but drew the child into a hug and kissed the top of the boy's head. The vampire swallowed the emotion Sho somehow always managed to drag up in him, smiled into the soft, dark hair and remembered why he would never, ever give up these children for all the silence in the world.

 

Half an hour later, with the remains of butchered sandwiches buried deep inside the trash can and upon discovering that Toshi was allergic to the pineapples on their pizza, Kei was more than ready to revoke that statement. 

 


	2. Treasure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "So", Kei drawled, "want me to tell you about the treasure?"

The sky above Mallepa had been ripped open, pouring rain on the defenceless city as though there would be a flood. The inhabitants had wisely chosen to remain inside, sheltered from the downpour. Families huddled together with blankets and soup to warm them. It was a day made for curling up on the sofa with a good book or a cigarette or your own thoughts. No wind guided the rain. It just fell straight downwards, heavy droplets forming a thick, cold curtain, the finger droplets creating a misty aura around it. The clouds had given up any pretence of strange formations, covering the city with a dull grey blanket instead.

 

In this weather the playground in the park was probably even less a cheerful place than the deserted streets. The rain beat a monotone rhythm on the plastic slides. The once cheerfully painted ducks and cars fastened on horribly creaking coil springs remained motionless without potential rider, emitting a melancholic kind of silence. Soaking up the rain for hours the sand had become muddy and dull. The swings were immobile, frozen in silent apathy, not caring to seem inviting on a day like this.

 

Kei sat down on one of them anyway. Suppressing a shiver he pulled the fabric of his red hooded jacket closer around himself, seeking warmth that was not there. His clothes were already completely drenched and clung to his pale skin in the most uncomfortable way possible. Blonde strands of hair were plastered to his face where they had escaped the hood. With a sense of uneasiness the vampire looked up at the sky. Despite its efforts the grey veil above could not conceal the fact from him that the sun was lurking just beyond. Still he was confident that he was safe for now. He had to be.

 

A small smile forming on his tired face he looked over at Sho. It was hard to believe the boy had never been to a playground in his short life. Then again, he had grown up on the streets after all. Still Sho was running around, filling the deserted playground with laughter and the innocent joy of a child as he tried out all the possible and seemingly impossible uses one could put this sort of environment to. Kei felt a bit sorry for him that he had to discover the joys of these games all on his own, but both Toshi and Shinji had refused to join them straight away. Shinji was obviously glad to stay inside when the monster was finally out. Toshi on the other hand was the sort of boy made of sugar, afraid of melting away with the first drop of rain on his skin. His best friend Sho loved being out in the rain, and Kei shared that feeling, though for different reasons. Grey though the sky might be, he was still out in what could be called daylight.

 

After an hour or two Kei saw Sho's excitement wearing off. Playgrounds were much more fun when you were not forced to play all on your own.

 

“Sho.”

 

At the call of his name the boy's head whipped around, wet hair flying. He grinned and rushed towards Kei. Once there he wrapped his tiny arms tightly around the cold body with a laugh. The vampire smiled and brushed the wet hair out of Sho's face.

 

“Are you cold?”

 

As expected Sho beamed and shook his head. It was an obvious lie. Wordlessly Kei pulled a thermos flask from his backpack and poured some of the still steaming tea into the lid, using it as a cup. Resting their foreheads against each other they shared the hot drink.

 

“So”, Kei drawled as he watched some warmth return to Sho's face. “Want me to tell you about the treasure?”

 

“Treasure?” the child piped up, eyes going wide. Ah, children. And Sho was so easily manipulated into happiness.

 

Keeping his expression straight and even a bit bored, Kei nodded. “Yeah. You have to follow all the clues, pass every test and overcome every obstacle. In the end you will find the treasure. It's... you know. An adventure.”

 

The tale was this: Years ago this had not been a playground at all but a battleground instead. The Yakuza and the Triad had waged a most bloody and horrible war. Those were different times. Whereas now gang wars were fought out in back streets and dark alleys, were power was gained through money and clever ploys, back then everything had been decided in open battles. Gangsters had not withdrawn to hideouts, had not planted traps and set up ambushes. You came here armed and courageous, and you either walked away alive or you never walked anywhere again at all. Heroes were made and destroyed here, their lives measured in valuable trinkets that never left the battleground again, for each side would claim it from the other through victory and defeat over and over again. Those were the old days, though. Nowadays things were handled differently and the battleground had been deserted. To commemorate what had taken place here, though, memorials had been erected to remind people of the glorious battles. These days people barely remembered these grounds for what they had once been and had made it a children's playground. The old treasures had been all but forgotten too and still lay buried somewhere beneath the sand.

 

Sho's eyes were impossibly wide as he clung to Kei's words. Of course, he did not mistake the tale for truth, but as it is with children he simply allowed himself to be dragged into the fantasy, his imagination running wild. “Kei, do you really think we can find the treasure?”

 

“That depends”, the blonde explained, “on whether or not we are able to revive the past. We can certainly try – that is, if you are up to it.”

 

During the next few hours it occurred to Kei that maybe he should feel stupid. After all, he had spun a most ridiculous tale about treasure and battles and whatnot, and now he and Sho were chasing across the playground, re-enacting fictitious battles and adventures born from their imagination. However, he was enjoying himself far too much to care. They clutched each other tightly as they tumbled down the slide (Kei didn't tell Sho how badly he had hit his head there until years later when they argued about doing the dishes again), invented heartfelt valedictories for each other before they jumped from the swings as far as they could (of course, they really jumped off a cliff in order to escape their pursuers), crawled through the wet sand upon realising they were still alive (Kei would later curse himself because someone had to clean their clothes and that someone would be him) and when they were both too exhausted to continue either because of the physical strain or because of being awake too long during the day they took shelter beneath a bright red climbing dome.

 

As Kei pulled the sandwiches he had prepared for Sho earlier from his backpack he watched the boy out of the corner of his eyes. In the end they did not find the treasure, but Kei swore that they would come back. There were still many adventures of the past to dig up, so maybe they would be successful some other time. After all, Kei had seen how much Sho enjoyed his time here and thus had sworn to himself to take the kid to the playground more often no matter what.

 

On the way home Sho stumbled too often and put on too brave a face until Kei was fed up and let him ride piggyback. Sho quickly fell asleep with his chin on the vampire's shoulder, their cheeks touching and Kei felt his heart melting for the boy all over again.

 

~*~

 

„I said back off and I meant it, midget!“

 

The man was nearly two heads taller than Kei and probably sported about thrice his weight. There literally was no neck between his chiselled chin and broad shoulders. His muscles were bulging. In fact, the man rather looked like he ate three steaks for breakfast and threw tree trunks as a warm up usually. Judging by the way his trousers were bulging he also had a knife hidden beneath the fabric. Of course, there also was the knuckleduster. His slanted eyes betrayed his short temper and the hot, blazing fury lurking behind.

 

Kei failed to be impressed by the brute. The vampire looked rather bored, which only served to infuriate his opponent further. The man's tiny eyes bulged when the blonde proceeded to light a cigarette with all the calm in the world. The lighter flared into life, basking them in an eerie glow that enhanced the harsh shadows cast by the flickering electric lights instead of softening them. After a few seconds the glow faded into a tiny red prick of light. Kei inhaled and let the smoke escape his mouth in utter peace until a hand grabbed the front of his shirt.

 

The vampire merely frowned.

 

“Remove that, will you?“ he said, gesturing faintly towards the fist. The fact that this fist was nearly as large as Kei's own head floated up from the scene, waved cheerfully and was quite disappointed when it was pointedly ignored.

 

The angry, red-faced man made his last mistake of the evening when he lifted Kei up by the collar of his shirt. A cold hand clamped down on a wrist as thick as the vampire's arms. The man managed to hold on for only a few seconds, his face a mask of pain when he finally let go. He meant to stumble back and clutch his wrist in pain, but Kei was quicker. Now it was his time to grab a fistful of the man's shirt, sweat soaked and disgusting though it was. He jerked the guy down forcefully until they were on eye level.

 

„Listen carefully. I will only explain this once. You will make sure that this walrus you call your son hands back what he took at once and then you'll drag him off and never come back here again. If you fail to comply there will be hell to pay. I don't care if you'll lose your face in front of your kid, but I'll kick your ass from here to feudal Japan. Understood?“

 

The man snorted in Kei's face. „You want to hit someone twice your size, midget?“

 

The vampire sighed. Some kinds of humans just didn't learn. It did not matter how reasonable or how frightening you were. They would only believe the truth when it literally hit them in the face and punched out a few teeth along the way. Kei growled.

 

„I'm prepared to do a lot more to those who make my children cry.“

 

The night had started out wonderfully. All three children had behaved themselves for once, which was surprising in itself. Kei suspected that they had done something bad again but he had not yet figured out what that might have been.

 

Still he wanted to reward good behaviour and encourage it for the future. Should he notice they had done something wrong he'd just make sure they'd regret it later on anyway. Seeing as the night was pleasantly warm and all three children were still pretty energetic he offered to take them to the playground. Sho jumped at the idea at once, remembering the treasure hunt they had not finished yet. Toshi had been excited ever since hearing about it earlier, so the prospect of joining in this time excited him to no end. Shinji, of course, wanted no part of this trip whatsoever once more for the simple reason that Kei would be there.

 

Sho and Toshi had rushed into the adventures of the battleground with much joy and dedication under the vampire's watchful gaze. When they charged around on horseback with imaginative blindfolds he used the moment to slip away and hide a small wooden box for them to find later on.

 

But then this brute and his son had shown up. The boy was older than Sho and Toshi. Just like his old man could easily cast a shadow on Kei, the son had towered over the vampire's cubs.

 

The situation had smelled of trouble the minute those two had appeared. Kei had nodded to the guy and received a snort in reply. Someone was feeling superior here. In his long years the vampire had met people like this often enough, people who needed to control others with violence and fear and disdain. It really was a pity that neither Kei nor his two little ones were in any way inclined to play the victims.

 

Sho and Toshi had continued playing. Soon enough the older boy had started to take an unhealthy interest in them. But even when he had shoved Toshi, Kei had not interfered. He knew the two boys could very well hold their own; you didn't grow up on the streets and came out soft, after all. Without losing any of their excitement and drive, the children soon managed to discover the tiny treasure chest. Their cries of delight and joy went straight under Kei's skin and cuddled up with all the other fond memories the children granted him. Finding a treasure usually invoked jealousy in other people, though, and this was no exception. The the tall boy had punched Toshi and took the treasure chest. Toshi wailed and Sho was frightened enough that he started crying.

 

The sound was like hot needles through Kei's contentment and made his more animalistic instincts flare up. It was the need to protect his pack, his family, and he could just barely keep himself from snarling with his fangs out in the open.

 

The following discussion with this bull of a man had been anything but pleasant. Kei had demanded the chest back, to which the other man only laughed and said this was life, after all. If you weren't strong enough to hold onto something, it would be taken from you. And while Kei found that statement to be somewhat true he was far from believing it should be seen as the right way to live. Nor should it be applied to his children. It was obvious that diplomacy wouldn't get him anywhere, though, so the vampire had allowed cold fury to settle within him, exuding an air of arrogant disinterest which in turn angered the other man. And now here they were.

 

The guy had the nerve to laugh at Kei's latest statement. A second later he stood with his back to Kei and gave some rather unmanly and high-pitched yelps as his right arm was twisted at a more than uncomfortable angle. The vampire restrained himself with an effort. He did not want to break the man's arm. Not yet, at least, and certainly not in front of Toshi and Sho – it would have put all those lessons about proper behaviour to an early deathbed.

 

„The chest, if you please.“

 

With gritted teeth the man gestured towards his son. Grudgingly, the boy shuffled over to Sho and handed him the stolen toy. Curiously enough, he stayed out of arm's reach as if fearing this small boy could do to him what the short blonde man did to his father.

 

„I will release you now. You will take your son and you will fuck off. You won't ever come back. If I see you or your son so much as breathing in the direction of my boys, I will nail your balls to the top of the highest tower in Mallepa and push you off. Understood?“

 

He understood.

 

Kei watched them hurry away. Only when they had disappeared from his view did he relax his shoulders. Sighing he dropped the cigarette and turned back towards Sho and Toshi. The children stood rooted to the spot. Crouching down, Kei wiped away Sho's tears and gently examined the black eye forming in Toshi's face. It wasn't all that bad fortunately, and just a few minutes later the incident seemed all but forgotten. Obviously the contents of the treasure chest were far more interesting than anything else that had occurred.

 

As Sho and Toshi cheered and laughed in delight at every lollipop, bouncing ball, yoyo, candy and all the other tiny gifts Kei had put in the chest they discovered now, Kei settled onto one of the old swings once more. He allowed himself to swing backwards and forwards slightly, his moss-green eyes fixed on the children.

 

He knew that when the night was through and they went home he'd have to treat scraped knees, bloody lips, nasty bumps and stinging bruises, for Sho had not been more careful in his antics than last time and Toshi probably didn't even know the word cautious. Kei's stomach gave a little flutter and he realized he was actually looking forward to that. The normal wounds of a happy childhood.

 

As the violently protective instinct from earlier slowly faded he pondered how they had grown on him so quickly, worming through his defences so easily and melting the ice around his heart with such ease.

 

With a tiny smile Kei lit another cigarette. Foolish children, so easily delighted by such a meaningless thing as a treasure chest packed with worthless junk, when it was the vampire who had found the greatest treasure of all.

 


	3. Candles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fire had already spread far too much by the time Kei came back home.

The flames were reaching for the sky already. Like a satin sheet their red gleam had covered the surrounding buildings in deep, bright reds and oranges and yellows, chasing away the darkness of the night. The fire hissed like an angry flame and cackled like a horde of evil imps, reaching out and beckoning. Dare to move closer and you would be engulfed.

 

Siren's were blazing as the firemen took the battle to their archnemesis. People already gathered to watch the old warehouse burn down. Some drunk young men were cheering, a woman sobbed, and the policemen stuck to their coffee. It was too much trouble to find the culprit anyway. Who cared about some empty warehouse? 

 

The heat radiated far. Although the little family had taken refuge on the roof of an apartment building across the street, they could feel the flames on their skin. A small boy of maybe twelve or thirteen years stared at the blazing fire with wide eyes. When his chin was grabbed to force his head around, he bit his lip. 

 

„It wasn't my fault!“ he exclaimed as punishment rained down on him.

 

Kei touched the handkerchief with his tongue to wet it before he scrubbed the grime off of Sho's cheeks. The boy grimaced and tried to turn his face away. Kei's iron grip wasn't painful but relentless nontheless. 

 

The silence was more heavy than any words Kei could have spoken. The small boy flinched and dared to look up into green, serious eyes. The vampire's pale skin was a stark contrast to the black grime and the angry red marks slowly fading away as they healed. Behind them Toshi and Shinji had fallen into uneasy sleep from exhaustion and fear. 

 

~*~ 

 

„ _Watch out!“_

 

_Kei pulls Toshi towards him just in time as a wooden beam crashes to the ground where the boy just stood. The vampire shields the child from the greedy flames with his body, though he can't help the gasp of pain as a fiery tongue flicks across his back. There are blisters on his face already from when he has pulled Shinji away from a crumbling door._

 

_He crouches down, one eye on the three frightened children and the other on the quickly spreading fire in the background._

 

„ _Don't be scared now.“ His voice is calm and reassuring, because that's what his little ones need right now. „Come here.“ Sho is the first in his arms, shaking and clinging to the vampire. Then comes Toshi. Kei has no patience tonight, so he just pulls Shinji to him by force. „Hold on tightly.“_

 

_The danger is not to bad, not with him holding the children. Still it's a dire situation, and Kei needs them to understand that. They cling to him and he takes a deep breath before he jumps. For the kids it's just a matter of seconds before they safely land on the platform leading to the fire escape. For Kei it's half an eternity. He can see every flickering movement of flames, every wall that is about to give in, every threat to the frail lives in his arms._

 

_He can see the tiny home they've built for themselves burning, even the cake consumed by flames and heat. He mourns the loss, but he knows it's going to be alright. As long as the three heartbeats he holds close are not silenced, his world will keep spinning._

 

~*~ 

 

Sho fought the tears with all his strength then, which prompted Kei not to mention them. Instead he brushed dirty bangs from a forehead desperately calling for a bath. His gaze lingered for a while. The boy had been foolish and had burnt the whole warehouse down. Kei had made sure the boys knew all about the dangers of fire ever since he had first caught them glancing at his lighter. 

 

And still there had been all those candles, and the fire had already spread far too much by the time Kei came back home. For a terrifying moment he had believed everything to be lost, until he could pick up the scent of his children above the smell of fire, smoke and  _danger_ .

 

For the third time since he had carried them up here, Kei's hands ghosted over Sho, checking for injuries the rational part of him knew were not there. There was another side of him, though, part his inner beast and the human long dead. That side was shaken and riled up by what had happened. It was an inner need to make sure his little ones had made it out alive, this one especially. 

 

Maybe it made him a bad person that although each loss would cut him apart, he knew Sho's death would be the only one he wouldn't overcome eventually. 

 

“I told you about playing with fire, Sho.” Kei's voice was barely more than a whisper. The boy wished he'd be yelled at. This was so much worse.

 

The first tears spilled. 

 

“But... you said... five hundred...”

 

~*~ 

 

“ _Ne, Kei?”_

 

_The vampire holds the tiny flame of his lighter to his cigarette, waits until it flares up and then glances at Sho. The boy has been unusually fidgety and nervous these past couple of days. Whatever is up with him? Not being able to figure that much out bugs Kei to no end._

 

“ _Hm?”_

 

“ _If it was your birthday...”_

 

_Kei rolls his eyes. Not that again. They've already talked about this a few days ago. The topic has darkened his mood considerably already. But how do you tell a child to fuck off? Hm. Maybe he should actually do just that. Then again, Sho already has a filthy mouth and telling him to fuck off would ruin Kei's parental efforts._

 

_Not that he ever succeeds in anything but getting them even more interested in the stuff they are not supposed to be interested in._

 

_Cigarettes._

 

_Alcohol._

 

_Guns._

 

_Him._

 

“ _... how many candles would there be on your cake?”_

 

“ _Too many.”_

 

“ _How many?”_

 

“ _A lot.”_

 

_Sho stangs in front of Kei and crosses his arms. He taps his foot, just once. The vampire's eyes nearly bulge when he recognizes the stance as the one he himself adopts when he wants the three boys to tell him who the_ fuck  _ruined his favourite shirt or who the_ fuck  _thought it was funny to play soccer with the toilet paper or why the_ fuck  _half the furniture is covered in bubble wrap._

 

_Kei raises his hands in defeat. “Fine. Five hundred. Now fuck off.”_

 

_And damn, he has said it after all. Hopefully Sho's ears fail him for once. However, the way the boy beams and runs off in happy excitement causes such a happy little flutter in Kei's stomach that he can't bring himself to listen to the nagging voice telling him this would come back to bite him in the ass._

 

~*~ 

 

“Sho...” He should have known better then to give the boy a random number that was impossible to fit on a birthday cake if measured in candles. Kei's hands took a gentle hold of Sho's face, thumbs stroking away the tears. “Come here, crybaby.” With a tenderness he rarely allowed to show he wrapped the child in his arms and held him close.

 

An affectionate kiss landed atop Sho's head and made him look up. 

 

“I apologize”, Kei murmured and ruffled the boy's hair to distract him. “You've made a mistake, but it was my fault, too. Still, why did you consider it a good idea to stick five hundred candles on a tiny little cake and light them in the middle of an old warehouse?”

 

With teary eyes Sho looked up at the blonde vampire and sniffled pitifully. “I j-just wanted... t-to do something special... for your b-b-b-birthday!” 

 

~*~ 

 

_Kei is counting their money. He sits on the floor in front of the small wobbly table they call their own and is more than tempted to bang his head against the cheap wood in utter frustration. He still does not make enough to afford rent each month, especially if he wants to stay out of the really bad neighbourhoods for the children's sake. Living in this warehouse was meant to be a short term solution. Hitting larger targets for more money means victims, though, and while the vampire in him cherishes the thought and tries to egg him on, the human wants to avoid that sort of bloodshed._

 

_How can he come home to his children if he is even more of a murderer?_

 

_Speaking of which..._

 

_Kei smirks as he hears the jingling behind him. Of course, he has been aware of Sho's attempt to sneak up for a while now. The boy is supposed to learn how to sneak up on humans though, so Kei has pretended his keen senses haven't picked up on the game yet. The bracelet would have given the boy away to a human._

 

“ _Better. But not good enough.”_

 

_Without looking Kei can tell Sho pouts at once and he has a hard time keeping the grin at bay that threatens to light up his whole face. Sho sits down and stares angrily at his bracelet. It seems the tiny daggers clink against each other just to spite him._

 

“ _You'll get the hang of it eventually. It's only been a week since your birthday. If you keep practising...” Kei nods at the determination showing in Sho's brown eyes. The bracelet has been a gift from the vampire to his favourite little cub – annoying brat though he can be – and the boy actually seems to treasure this new possession above anything else._

 

“ _Kei, when is YOUR birthday?”_

 

_The question catches him off guard. A lot of more or less pleasant memories are dragged to the surface to haunt Kei. When he has collected himself enough to answer, he has to swallow a lump in his throat._

 

“ _I don't know” he answers evenly, voice not betraying the sad reality._ I don't remember. I've tried too hard not to care, not to keep count...

 

_Sho looks stricken as though this is something incredibly sad. Kei can practically smell the tears forming in the boy's eyes, so he reaches out and tugs on the bracelet. The daggers tinkle and remind the child that there's something else to focus on. Sho rushes off to practice sneaking up on Kei some more and the vampires makes sure not to let his shoulders slump._

 

_Birthdays..._

 

~*~ 

 

For a few precious seconds Kei was silenced. The facts took a moment to make it through the haze of danger and potential threats to his children's lives. Slowly everything sunk in as he glanced over towards the burning warehouse. 

 

Sho had made up a birthday for him because the boy had not been able to accept the fact that the vampire was without that special day to celebrate. Somehow he had gotten a cake and 500 candles and had attempted to light them all at once and stick them on the cake. 

 

Fuck. 

 

This boy was a nut case. 

 

With a hand on the back of Sho's head Kei made sure the boy's face was pressed close to his chest. The little one didn't need to see the vampire blinking rapidly himself to keep his eyes dry. It had been a long time since anybody had been that thoughtful and stupid on his account. Foolish child. Lovely boy. 

 

“So in order to celebrate my birthday you decided to burn down the warehouse? Really, Sho, a gift certificate would have been much appreciated as well.” There is the tiniest chuckle as the tension starts to bleed from Sho. Finally. “Never, ever do that again. No matter how many candles should be on the cake... always remember this, Sho. Stay reasonable. I won't tell you that you nearly killed all of us today, because you already know that. I won't reproach or punish you, because I think you are already doing that to yourself enough right now. We've all made it out safely and we will find a new place to live, but if I ever so much as catch you looking at matches, I will shave your head.“ A kiss to the forehead this time, because Sho looked about ready to cry once more

 

Short arms snaked around his slender form. Sho held on as tightly as he possibly could. It would probably take a while before all three children had properly dealt with nearly burning to death. For Sho there was also the guilt of having actually burnt the whole building down. What did that do to a child's mind? Well, the boy couldn't probably become even harder to take care of. 

 

Kei ruffled the unruly black hair and picked Sho up. As if the boy weighed nothing at all he carried him to the balustrade and sat him down on top of it. The child let his short legs dangle over the edge of the roof. He trusted the vampire to hold him and keep him safe, just like always. 

 

“Why today?”

 

Sho leaned back against Kei, snuggling into the much cooler body. “One year ago today I found you. Don't you remember?” 

 

A smile bloomed on Kei's features as he rested his chin on top of Sho's head. “More candles than I can blow out and a very nice new birthday. My Sho, you are spoiling me.” They stared at the battle on the streets below for a while longer in silence. 

 

“It looks kind of cool.”

 

“If you ever say that again about a building you burnt to the ground, Sho, I'll buy 500 candles and have you blow them out all in one go. And don't think I consider a blue face a reason to stop.”

 

A child's laughter drifted through the night. “You still need to tell me. And the truth this time, Kei. You lied. Lying is bad. You said so yourself.” Sho's small hands wrapped themselves comfortably around the vampire's cold ones. Kei was already starting to figure out by this time that the kid loved to bounce his lectures right back at him when given the chance.

 

“Fine.” Kei brushed some of Sho's hair aside and whispered into his ear. The boy snorted.

 

“You should have just said so. Like, that's a LOT less than five fucking hundred! I bet it wouldn't have been so bad. You know, actually I think this is kinda your fault.”

  


Kei went back to staring at the fire. Well, maybe he did have a few things left to learn, too, especially regarding his patience for human children and their various quirks and questions. Also he would have to double his efforts to make Sho's mouth a lot less filthy. Soon, preferably. Or maybe dangle him over the edge until he got the point across... 

 

There was a gentle touch of a child's lips against his cheek and he blinked in surprise. Before he could ask, he saw the beaming smile and instead put his head on Sho's shoulder contentedly. “Happy Birthday, Kei.” 

 

There were no candles left. But as they shared the inedible leftover piece of cake from Sho's pocket, Kei found himself making a wish anyway. His wish was very simple, and so he allowed himself to indulge in the hope of having it fulfilled one of these days. It was a wish he'd make every year from now on on his new birthday. 

 

_Just one more year..._


	4. Farewell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Please don't leave me!" he begged, burying his face into soft fur.

Afterwards no one could say for sure whether Sho had found the little dog or the other way around. Nevertheless the pup became a part of their little pack for exactly five and a half days.

 

Kei had known from the start that the tiny little thing wouldn't make it for long. He was no expert on dogs, but the heartbeat had seemed too faint from the start. Although Panda, as Sho had named the pup because of its black and white colouring, had been energetic and playful, always following Sho and nipping at the boy's ankles, the vampire had known he would die soon. Sometimes he wondered if he should have just said no when Sho asked to keep the pup. In the end he didn't regret it, though. The boy would hold onto the good memories of his very first own pet and treasure them. That experience would be worth the pain of losing his four-legged friend.

  


It happened one night, exactly five days after Sho had adopted Panda. The pup had been less energetic than usual all day long and come nightfall he was apathetic and weak. Sho cradled the nearly limp body in his small arms, holding Panda close to his chest. With one hand he kept petting the pup, with the other he tried to prevent the weak body from slipping out of his grasp. The dog's eyes kept searching for his, silently asking what was happening, because the tiny animal did not and could not understand it. The small head kept drooping for he lacked the strength to hold it up by himself. Every once in a while he would struggle, trying to burrow deeper into Sho's arms, full of trust that somehow the human would protect him and make everything okay.

  


When cold arms wrapped around him Sho knew for sure that Panda was dying. He clutched the pet close to his chest and begged and pleaded as though it was in Kei's power to stop this from happening. The vampire let him go on like this for a while, before he gently kissed Sho's forehead and wiped the tears from the boy's cheek.

  


„Just hold him“, he murmed. „He needs you now.“

  


„I don't want him to die!“ Sho cried. No matter how hard he tried to fight them, the tears just kept coming, rising from that place deep within him that loved the little dog more than anything in the world.

  


Kei gently pushed the bangs out of Sho's face. „I know. And he does not want to leave you. Hold him, be there for him, and think of the good times you had.“

  


And so Sho did.

  


He remembered the way the pup would always try to find a stretch of bare skin on Sho to lick the human or push his nose where Sho was ticklish. How Panda had always felt the need to eat when Sho was munching on something, too. The way the dog would snuggle up to him when he fell and scratched his knee so hard that he had to fight tears. Panda crashing into his legs whenever he ran towards Sho in excitement. The frustration upon finding a huge hole in his shoe. The laughter when Panda started chasing his own tail. The warmth when they curled up together on the floor. The fondness when he watched the dog explore their home.

  


„Is he in pain?“ Sho whispered.

  


Kei's hand softly stroked thrugh black and white fur, allowing his senses to feel for the dog's ever weakening heart. He was glad to find that he would not have to lie. „No. He will just fall asleep.“

  


The boy nodded and shifted his pet in his arms, holding him closer and allowing Panda to be enveloped by his scent. As the tiny heartbeat slowly faded away, Kei closed his eyes. „You need to say goodbye now, Sho“ he murmured.

  


The human's heart was breaking, shattering into a million pieces when he finally realized the dog was drawing his last breath. „No“ he wailed, tears blinding him, blurring the vision of a lifeless body in his arms. This could not be happening. „Please don't leave me!“ he begged, burying his face into soft fur. It was tearing his young heart apart to know there was nothing he could do, nothing he could say that would ever make this better. „I love you...“ Sho's voice was a pained whimper as he struggled for the words to say his last goodbye, to somehow convey all that Panda meant to him into speech, but it was not possible. He needed the small animal to understand that he had not meant for this to happen, that he wanted to hold onto him forever but couldn't, that Sho's life had somehow been better with Panda in it, and he just hoped that holding him and thinking of him and crying for him was good enough. Deep down he knew that for himself it would never be.

  


The night was only halfway through when Panda died and Sho's world broke down. From one moment to the next there was an empty space where before there had been life, silence where there had always been a sound. Loneliness broke down on Sho, confusing him. He was not alone, he had Kei and Toshi and Shinji, but Panda was gone and somehow right now that was a loss no one cold make up for, and emptiness no one could fill that was threatening to swallow him whole and leave nothing behind.

  


Kei held Sho close to his chest as heartbreaking sobs wreaked through the frail body. These tears would not dry for some time to come and the vampire wished from the bottom of his heart that the comfort he offered was helping his little Sho. He hoped that soon the boy would look back on the good times spent with the pup fondly instead of with too much pain to bear. The wound would heal, but it would take time.

  


As he gently rocked Sho in his arms Kei looked up at the ceiling, fighting his own tears as that small, broken voice reached his ears.

  


„Farewell...“


	5. Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sho wonders about the origins of Kei's red jacket. One night, he dares to ask.

There were many mysteries surrounding Kei. Where did he come from, how old was he, why was his hair blonde, where was his family or was he an orphan, too? Why was he smaller than even the loudmouthed teenagers harassing them? Sho suspected Kei had never bothered to eat his vegetables, which was why the boy dedicated a lot of his time to this task. While the thought made Sho dig into his food with a passion, Kei was always left wondering about the measuring glances thrown his way. Not that he wasn't grateful for getting the boy to eat up.

  
In the end, though, there was always one mystery Sho longed to solve above all else.

  
The facts were these: Kei was a vampire, immortal, aloof, mysterious, wielding a cold aura of being utterly untouchable. As far as Sho was concerned, his guardian was as invincible as any comic book superhero, but a lot more entertaining for the simple reason that he still was unable to perpare any food more complicated than frozen pizza, and even then success was a fickle thing of chance. However, the point was that with his speed and strength and unvulnerabitlity Kei made for one kickass superhero... and then he went and got himself a bright red jacket not even Toshi was willing to wear. Sho had no trouble picturing Kei in black, dark grey or especially pure white - how awesome would it be to watch Kei beat up other thugs wearing brilliant white like a ray of light come to scorch everything in Sho's way? Cape and tights were no option, of course, but seeing him go down on Chang's men in a white flash would surely be most brilliant. He could call himsellf White Shadow and Sho would tell those damn Chinsese to stuff it or he'd call his best friend, the White Shadow.

  
But Kei just had to go and wear a red jacket all the friggin' time. Sure, Red made for a nice street name. The thing was just that it made Kei look so incredibly normal and childlike and non-threatening. The loosely fitting pants and overly simple hairstyle were also not helping at all. Kei looked as though he didn't even have a clue as to which end of the gun was supposed to point towards other people, let alone how to kill a man in a matter of an eyeblink or two.

  


The red jacket was, as Sho had concluded with the wisdom of a child, so wrong that there had to be a reason behind Kei's obsession with it. A good reason. A reason worthy of a superhero.

  
When Kei returned that night, Sho made sure to catch his attention in a most effective way. Before his thin arms could wind around the vampire's waist, however, Kei sidestepped the assault, grabbed the boy around the middle and dumped him on the couch. As he sorted away the money he'd made somehow, somewhere tonight, Sho launched his attack in earnest. "Shinji is asleep and Toshi drank so much coke that I had to tie him to the antenna on the roof. I haven't untied him yet. You were gone quite long, so I'm not in bed anymore, but I did sleep, swear to the guns you promised me for my 16th birthday."

  
"18th. And I hate you for remembering that. I thought you didn't hear me through the fever."

  
Sho snorted, for he tried not to giggle anymore to show he was a man already, and shook his head defiantly. "You were talking about GUNS, Kei. And 17 - last offer."

  
Kei crossed his arms in front of his chest and rolled his eyes. He knew beyond a shadow of doubt that Sho would find a way to acquire guns long before then, so all he could really hope for was not to be shot in the ass by someone a head smaller than him. "Fine", he grunted, giving in against better judgement but yearning to see the spark of joy in his boy's eyes after tonight's kill. Returning to this innocence made him feel so filthy and yet so very right. As long as he could still make Sho happy, he could pretend to be more than a monster. He could pretend to be someone worthy of this child's affection, and sometimes he could even believe himself. "So why did you get up, shrimp? You know I don't want a welcome commitee at this hour."

  
Sho beamed. In his wild imagination he had painted this part in vivid, bright colours and looked forward to it immensely. Now he would unravel the truth behind the horror that was Kei's red jacket. Just as the vampire took the thing off, Sho piped up: "Why are you wearing something that makes you look so silly?" Well. That hadn't been exactly how he had meant to phrase the question, but it was too late to correct his mistake. The best thing to do was look cocky as Kei tensed, turned and glared.

  
"What?"

 

Sho gulped and sank deeper into the worn out cushions. "You heard me" he squeaked, trying to sound braver than he felt. When it came down to this, he was still a child and Kei was everything he wanted to be one day. Except tall. And dressed well. And alive. But everything else.

  
There was an unreadable expression in Kei's eyes as he regarded SHo. "Because it's my favourite colour." His voice was calm and even, his expression guarded. Sho knew at once he was lying and called him out on it. The red jacket found its way onto the cupboard as usual. "I am. Live with it." With that the vampire deemed the discussion over. He had no intention of sharing the truth with Sho just yet. The boy, however, was determined to find out.

  
Whenever Kei left their current apartment, Sho would make sure to await his return. The vampire would be bombarded with questions and assumptions. Over the days and weeks to come it became a sort of game for Sho and Toshi, and the reasons they came up with ranged from childishly innocent ("Do you want to look more like us?") to downright hilariously absurd ("Were you a girl once?"). Kei's answers were never better and never more truthful. ("I'm colour blind, so I really don't care."). AS time went by, Toshi lost interest in the game and Sho felt the heroic aura he had created for Kei fade. When one night Kei rolled his eyes and said "I can protect you better like this" Sho didn't even pretend it could be a brilliant superhero ploy. He was disappointed, though his adoration never wavered. So Kei was not a superhero. He was still an awesome person in his own way. Awesome, just not super-awesome. From that night on SHo stopped asking.

  
It was a year later when he finally stood an inch taller than Kei and had stolen his first gun only to find it wasn't working, that Sho noticed he was able to touch the top rim of the cupboard without getting on tiptoes. He was still far from adulthood or even his 16th birthday, and so he still took special delight in being able to do something Kei couldn't. Cooking as at stalemate currently, but everything else was fair game, including the cupboard.

  
With a grin Sho stretched, his fingertips slipping onto the cupboard as he glanced at Kei's sleeping form on the couch. The vampire had retired only minutes ago but was aleep already and thus failed to take notice of Sho's amazing accomplishment. The boy pouted and then opened his mouth in silent wonder as he touched something slightly wet. Kei's jacket, still as horribly red as when he had made a game out of discovering the purpose behind a garment so utterly uncool. The night had been dry, though, making Sho wonder. There had been no rain for weeks. Frowning in confusion, Sho pulled the jacket down. Red, hisdous and wet. When Sho turned it over in his hands he noticed the stains left on his skin by the wet spots on the fabric he clutched.

  
Blood.

 

After a while Sho smiled. Superheroes, he remembered, covered their faces with masks no matter how foolish it might make them appear, hiding their true nature as much to protect themselves as to keep their loved ones safe.

 

Superheroes, though, were actually much less awesome than his Kei.


	6. White Lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not all lies are bad. Some of them can help two souls connect.

He had trapped himself in a little white lie and he didn't mind one bit.

**   
** Kei was feeling pleasantly drowsy. Some time ago they had bought a new bed, and while it was constantly crammed with the four of them using it, it was at least way more comfortable than the old couch they had before. Besides, during daylight hours he tended to have the bed to himself anyway, and the children didn't mind draping themselves all over him at night whenever he happened not to leave the bed in time.

**   
** Tonight was one of the rare occasions where he was still in bed with them willingly. The children needed to sleep, and Sho had demanded Kei join them. So for the time being they had taken their nightly ritual to the fluffy place between pillows and blankets and dreams. Usually they started earlier, but feeding had delayed their ritual this time. ** **

**** Just half an hour each night. It had been enough for Shinji and Toshi, but Sho needed more time. So while the other two were already fast asleep right and left of the vampire, the youngest of the boys rested against the cool chest and gazed into the book with wide brown eyes.

  
„ I'm never going to get it...“ he murmured and swatted at the fingers trying to comb his hair. He hated it when Kei fussed over him, but the vampire loved to do it. Usually they reached a quick solution by Kei blackmailing Sho into submission. Tonight however, it was ridiculously easy to get rid of the offending hand. Kei just hummed softly and allowed Sho to grip his fingers tightly and away from his hair. He was very sleepy despite having rested properly. It was what the closeness and warmth of the sleeping children did to him.

**   
** The boy tugged the nearly limp arm back around him and snuggled against Kei. An odd noise rose from the vampire's chest, almost like a purr but not quite. Toshi and Shinji, both peaceful for once, and Sho... he was enveloped by comfortable warmth. Calm heartbeats lulled his senses, and the only thing keeping him just a tad bit aware was the fact that Sho every so often squirmed in his arms and called his attention back to the book.

„Okay, once more...“ Kei whispered, a yawn tugging on him. It was dark outside and he had no intention of sleeping, but the children's bodies made him want to curl up with them, lose himself in the comfort of having them close and never wake up. Reality could never measure up to the illusion of a loving family. „I know it's complicated. But you need to learn it. This means... sunrise.“

  
„ I don't want to learn to read about the sunrise.“ A pout was forming on Sho's lips. He had developed strong instincts to protect Kei, a fact which the vampire found both touching an amusing. Whenever possible Sho tried t avoid topics which might touch a sore spot within the vampire. Occasionally he saw that glint of heartbreaking sadness in Kei's eyes when the sun rose and trapped him inside their apartment. He never wanted to be the reason for such a look on his friend's face. Instead, Sho had made it his mission to make Kei smile.

**   
** He was successful tonight. Kei's face lit up just a little and a chuckle rumbled in the chest Sho was snuggled against. „You need to learn to read at all before you get to make demands about the topic“ he chided gently.

**   
** Sho pouted and refused to look at Kei even when the vampire gave a gentle tug on his skin. „Hey...“ he murmured. When the child still refused to budge, Kei just pressed their cheeks against each other. „Crybaby“ he murmured, knowing that poking fun at Sho before tears could gather would actually prevent him from crying most of the time.

  
„ Don't tease me!“ the young one finally demanded. Kei simply smiled.

**   
** For weeks he had worked hard on teaching the boys to read. He wasn't a great parent or rolemodel for them, and even less of a good teacher, but he considered it his responsibility to make sure they got at least some of the education they would need later in life if they ever wanted to be more than mindless thugs and cannon fodder as adults. Kei hoped they would become more than that.

**   
** Shinji and Toshi had taken to reading quite well. However, Sho was still struggling after all this time. Each night they would sit down and Kei would make him read and learn the symbols and help him understand them, but the boy just didn't seem to get it.

**   
** Or at least, that was the official version.

**   
** As Kei drifted off to sleep surrrounded by soft heartbeats and warm, innocent lives, he caught a glimpse of Sho turning around to look at him, make sure he was gone and then picking up the book once more. The light was dim, but just bright enough to read, and a smile danced on the boy's lips as he indulged in the story.

**   
** It was their little white lie. While Sho pretended to have trouble learning to read, Kei pretended not to know that he had learned more quickly than the other two.

**   
** It gave them an excuse to snuggle together like this each evening. An excuse for Sho to provoke the fussing and then act as though it was unwelcome. An excuse for Kei to hold the little boy close and cherish the fact that such a pure soul trusted him. An excuse for him to fall asleep feeling loved and protected. An excuse for Sho to hog the vampire's rare affections and feel as though he was special to the blonde.

**   
** It was this little white lie that made them feel happy and safe in a world that was anything but. They had trapped themselves in it and they didn't mind one bit .


End file.
